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Tag: Punk

  • Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards by Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards by Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Album: Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Artist: Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Released: February 17, 2026; Self Release

    Hans Gruber and the Die Hards have been a high energy, often zany staple of the Ska-core genre for close to a decade. Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards is no exception to this already established norm. This entire album is a fun energy driven chaotic parade. If upon hearing the first song you think to yourself, ‘Oh I know where this is going’, I promise that you do not. The only way I can describe this album is by asking you to picture the Kool-aid man busting into a room except he is wearing a pair of boxer briefs as music blasts at you. He then runs by you bursting through the adjacent wall into the next room, revealing a new room and music completely and different from the from the last. That is honestly how it feels as you progress track by track through the album. The only thing that seems to remain constant throughout the album is that each song is utterly amazing and the group’s disdain for how things are and their desire for them to be better for everyone not just the rich—Well maybe not better for the rich.

    I think the song that best showcases their desire to make things better is, “One Day”. It imagines a future where everyone has housing and the other things they need to live. In a very loose sense, it is a Ska-core “Imagine” except where John Lennon very much comes off as a pie in the sky, wouldn’t this be nice dreamer. Hans Gruber and the Die Hards deliver a song that is less pie in the sky and more resolute. It’s not just a call to action; it’s a threat. The verses in Spanish speak of revolution further cementing the song as one that means business. One day, indeed hopefully sometime in our lifetime. This is my favorite song on the album.

    “Pay Your Tolls” is another great song that showcases yet another thing to be mad at about society as it is. Toll roads suck. Having to pay a fee for a thing that should be a public service is utter bull shit especially when you live in a country that doesn’t offer any other viable modes of transit, outside of its largest cities. Hans Gruber really hates paying tolls and you should too. Another thing that I really like about this particular song is that it is a team up with Doom Scroll one of my top folk punk bands. It might seem like an odd match up to some people but to me, I think it’s perfect.

    Then, there is “Throwdown” which is just a absolutely perfect pop-punk bop with horns. I love the vocals so much in this song, especially the chorus. The drums? Great! The guitar? Great! The horns? AMAZING! The little operatic bit?? You know unexpectedly that too even works! Purely an infectious bop.

    The last song I want to highlight is “Chambacú” Its a Latin ballad with a coral accompaniment and horns, but also there is screaming?? Its unique, its awesome and I love it. I low key want to go to the place they are singing about because the love and reverence they express for it in this song makes it seem hella lit.

    To wrap things up here, other notable songs include one about trash. One about how venues should give ear protection to concert goers for free: a thing I wholeheartedly agree with. And a song that compares politicians and the rich to everyone’s least favorite parasite, the bedbug. One more thing I wholeheartedly agree with. This album is a wild ride that is as fun as it is chaotic. With “Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards”, Hans Gruber and the Die Hards have served fans up something they couldn’t have possibly imagined.

  • Leash Aggression by Pigeon Pit

    Leash Aggression by Pigeon Pit

    Artist: Pigeon Pit

    Album: Leash Aggression

    Release: November 07, 2025; Ernest Jennings Record co.

    I have always liked Pigeon Pit. They express an interesting mix of folk and punk that is seen as new and unique to the uninitiated. I am always glad when they drop a new album, but I have to be honest, 2025 has been quite the year for them. In January, they released the album, ‘Crazy Arms’ it was fantastic and one that I regret not being able to go back and write a review for. Y’all definitely should go check it out though. Highly recommend. Then, as if seemingly out of nowhere (at least for me anyways), they released this album barely even 11 months later. This is quite the impressive release cadence for a group that has in the past released albums 2-4 years apart. Clearly Pigeon Pit is on the grind and has a lot to say. I, for one, am ready to listen.

    I want to start out by say the the fiddle on this album is sublime. It draws emotions out of the air as if by alchemy. The song that best exhibits this is “Return of the White Knuckle Angel”. There is just something about the fiddle in this song that pierces straight through my soul. I get chills the moment the first fiddle note is bowed into existence. Pure visceral longing— honestly is the only way I can describe it. This type of emotional resonance is the prefect punctuation to a song that is about someone who is no longer in Lomes’s life, but who she clearly cares deeply for. This is my favorite song on the album.

    Another thing that I love about this album and Pigeon Pit in general is the one liners that are strung throughout the music. “Cherry” has two of the best of the album. The first is “who can you really trust who isn’t 86’d from Ralph’s?” 86’d a term here meaning being banned from Ralph’s, a chain of grocery stores predominantly on the west coast, a subsidiary of the much larger Kroger corporation. 10 words to say you can’t trust people who wont steal food from larger corporations. Or perhaps an implied call to action saying to listeners— Live the beliefs you claim to have or shut up. You can decide for yourself if that means you actually need to steal from corporations. The next line follows shortly after the last and it is “cowards never die, so I guess I’ll just keep seeing you around”. This is perhaps one of the coldest burns I have ever heard set to music and is delivered with nonchalant matter of fact attitude that makes it hit even harder. You can’t even argue with it. People who lack the bravery to stand for something tend to live longer than the people who do. I just love it so much, the line, in a vacuum is stellar in the context of the song, it is another way to highlight the implied call to action from moments earlier. Live with courage, the people you are about are watching.

    “Anthill Mode” captures the slice of life feel presented throughout the album the most. It is simply cinematic and awe-inspiring in a way that is relentlessly relatable.

    “Leash Aggression” as a whole is an amazing example of slice of life poetry. If it doesn’t make you feel like you are there living alongside Lomes and the cast of characters in her life, it is only because it makes you desperately pine to actually be there passing time with them on the streets of Olympia. The struggles, the monotony, and joy all become strikingly real as the album plays. It is quite magnificent how Pigeon Pit is able to curate these snap shots of life in such a consequential manor.

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—> Purchase Leash Aggression By Pigeon Pit digitally via Amazon Music.